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CONSTRUCTION DEFINITIONS/FUNCTIONS
(Some definitions courtesy Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)
1. Beam: A heavy piece of wood or steel laid horizontally, designed to carry a major load.
2. Bearing wall: Any wall that supports a vertical load in addition to its own weight.
3. Bird’s mouth: The seat cut out near the lower end of a rafter placed so that the top plate
will nest into the rafter. It fits over the top plate.
4. Bolt, anchor or foundation: A bolt in the concrete foundation wall used to secure the
wood framing to the foundation.
5. Boston ridge: Shingling used in finishing the hip of a roof, in which shingles are laid to
make a watertight joint on the hip.
6. Bridging: Small wood members used as bracing between two beams to hold them rigid.
7. Cornice: A horizontal molded projection on the top of a building, or the overhang of a
pitched roof at the eave line.
8. Crawl space: A shallow unfinished space between the bottom floor of a building and the
ground which allows access to plumbing, wiring, vent openings, etc.
9. Cripple, or Cripple stud: A short framing stud used above/below windows and doorways,
also similar shorter members used elsewhere.
10. Dormer: A window built upright in a sloping roof, also the roofed structure containing
such a window.
11. Fascia: A flat board used to finish off the edge of a roof.
12. Fire stop or fire blocking: A short stud placed horizontally between wall studs to prevent
the spread of fire.
13. Flashing: Materials used to prevent seepage and weatherproof joints, edges, chim-
neys, foundation walls, etc.
14. Footing: Masonry that forms the base of a foundation wall or pier, wider than the foun-
dation wall or pier that supports it.
15. Foundation wall: The side part of concrete or other masonry, which supports the super-
structure of a building.
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CONSTRUCTION DEFINITIONS/FUNCTIONS
(Some definitions courtesy Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)
1. Beam: A heavy piece of wood or steel laid horizontally, designed to carry a major load.
2. Bearing wall: Any wall that supports a vertical load in addition to its own weight.
3. Bird’s mouth: The seat cut out near the lower end of a rafter placed so that the top plate
will nest into the rafter. It fits over the top plate.
4. Bolt, anchor or foundation: A bolt in the concrete foundation wall used to secure the
wood framing to the foundation.
5. Boston ridge: Shingling used in finishing the hip of a roof, in which shingles are laid to
make a watertight joint on the hip.
6. Bridging: Small wood members used as bracing between two beams to hold them rigid.
7. Cornice: A horizontal molded projection on the top of a building, or the overhang of a
pitched roof at the eave line.
8. Crawl space: A shallow unfinished space between the bottom floor of a building and the
ground which allows access to plumbing, wiring, vent openings, etc.
9. Cripple, or Cripple stud: A short framing stud used above/below windows and doorways,
also similar shorter members used elsewhere.
10. Dormer: A window built upright in a sloping roof, also the roofed structure containing
such a window.
11. Fascia: A flat board used to finish off the edge of a roof.
12. Fire stop or fire blocking: A short stud placed horizontally between wall studs to prevent
the spread of fire.
13. Flashing: Materials used to prevent seepage and weatherproof joints, edges, chim-
neys, foundation walls, etc.
14. Footing: Masonry that forms the base of a foundation wall or pier, wider than the foun-
dation wall or pier that supports it.
15. Foundation wall: The side part of concrete or other masonry, which supports the super-
structure of a building.
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